MCCC Blue Bell to renovate building for use as health sciences program

This artist's rendering from Kimmel Bogrette Architecture + Site
shows what architects envision the renovated physical education building would look like once new construction wraps the building on three sides to house the health sciences program at Montgomery County Community College's Blue Bell campus.

An aging building on Montgomery County Community College’s Blue Bell campus could soon be getting a major facelift.

Representatives from the college presented plans to expand the current physical education building in order to house the health sciences program during the Whitpain Board of Supervisors meeting Dec. 3.

The proposed plan calls for renovating the existing building while also wrapping it on three sides with new construction.

“What we envision to do in a new building — a building that is partially the old building and partially an expanded building — is to create a design that will allow us to do a number of things,” said Thomas Freitag, the college’s vice president for finance and administration.

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Freitag said the project has been something the college has been looking at for a while, noting it was the final item on its master plan for 2002 to 2010 and now the first item on its new master plan that covers through 2022.

He said the health sciences program, which includes areas of study such as nursing, dental hygiene and several medical technology fields, is currently housed in the campus’ science building. With the expansion, both athletics and health sciences would have the same home.

By creating updated facilities for its health sciences program, the college has the mission to “position Montgomery County Community College as the regional leader in health and wellness education to be the catalyst to transform lives,” according to the college’s presentation.

“These programs are a part of a growing workforce,” Freitag said. “We know that there’s a demand. We are outstripping our demand in our current building.”

Martin Kimmel, of Kimmel Bogrette Architecture, presented the details of the proposed expansion.

The existing physical education building has 69,000 square feet, which is “largely underutilized,” he said. The proposed addition would add 91,000 square feet, bringing the renovated building to 160,000 square feet.

Architectural renderings show that the new construction would wrap around the old structure on three sides, essentially masking the exterior of the current building.

“It will also put a nice facelift on what is a fairly old looking building,” Freitag said.

“Our goal is to be in keeping with the new architecture that has appeared on campus and to use this building to tie the whole campus together,” Kimmel said.

Plans for the first floor include renovations to the existing two-story gymnasium spaces, condensed locker room spaces, a new main gym, a weight and cardio fitness room, team athletic spaces, classrooms, clinical spaces and an atrium, according to Kimmel. Meanwhile, the second floor would also include clinical and classroom spaces, with openings to the gymnasium and atrium spaces below. The second floor would also include an indoor walking track.

The plans call for the building to achieve LEED certification, according to Kimmel.

No official land development plans have been submitted to the township as of yet. The project’s timeline calls for construction to be from June 2014 to February 2016, according to Kimmel.

“Our targeted goal ... is to have the facility open in spring of 2016,” he said.